A playpen is a piece of furniture in which an infant or young toddler (typically those less than thirty-five inches tall and weighing less than thirty pounds) is placed to prevent self-harm when the child's parent or guardian is occupied or unable to maintain a constant watch over the young child.
Playpens have been utilized by parents for many years and were traditionally made of wood. Early playpens had a flat rectilinear platform, most usually square, and had four sides comprising a plurality of regularly spaced vertical bars extending from a top rail to the bottom platform. This configuration allows the child to see out, but the horizontal spacing of the vertical bars are such to prevent the child from exiting the playpen. The floor of the playpen, the rectilinear platform, is covered with a soft mat for the child's comfort. The vertical barred walls of the playpen are usually higher than the height of the child to prevent injuries from children attempting to climb over the walls. Playpens may also have a detachable lid.
Current playpens have more modern and portable designs and typically comprise a basic metal and plastic support system with mesh, soft plastic or nylon sides extending between the rigid members of the support system. Some playpens include an optional removable bassinet that can be attached at the top in which the child can sleep or utilized to change diapers until the child is a few months of age. Some models of playpens have attachments such as mobiles, side pockets for supplies and toys, and a clip-on adapter to retain an electronic device for playing music so the child can listen to the music while sleeping or playing. Portable playpens are available in different sizes, but most can be collapsed into a small roll for easy storage and transport. However, these portable playpens can be difficult to collapse or disassemble into their compact collapsed state for transport.
Additionally, many families have multiple small children. For example, it is not uncommon for a family to have an infant and a toddler, or a newborn and an infant. Unfortunately, with playpens of the prior art, this usually requires the purchase or acquisition of a multitude of playpens, at least one for each child, as it can be a safety hazard to place a multitude of children of varying ages in one single playpen.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a folding playpen that can be quickly collapsed into a single compact unit for transport and also easily expanded for use. In addition, there remains a need in the art for a folding playpen that can be safely used with more than one child.